Scheherazade
by Chiiharu
Summary: CCFA's anniversary fic! Forgetting who she is, her name, her abilities, how hard she had to work to get where she is today, Sayuri has to listen to 1001 stories from various people she's met on her pilgrimage to save the world and reclaim her freedom.


**A/N:** I've never been so proud of myself so much before. XD

I mean, I've worked my ass off for the last four days writing this. And I love this. I can't wait until various people read this, which would be my auntie and Mac and whatever. XD Because this is an epic. What is this exactly? It's been a whole year since I started writing the story "Clairvoyant Calamities: Fictitious Affection". While this version may not be my life's mission, it made 2009 worth while for me. So I had to write something for it's 'birthday', so to say.

It's also Sayuri's birthday as well, but that's a tad complicated. This story brings tears to my eyes. I think I did good. :D

If you're new to the thing that is CCFA, this story needs no prior reading at all. Actually, most of the major things are explained the the stories the characters tell. XD

Happy birthday, CCFA. :D

I'll keep writing you until your finished! That's a promise! I dedicate this to my dead first grade teacher and someone who recently had to leave us because of my stupid crackhead uncle form my mom's side. Yeah, I think he gave me this epic plot bunny. I still cry for that guy.

Anyway, I'm done talking. XD This really made my day.

And this is my birthday present to me as well. :3 Since it's on the 17th.

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**-: Scheherazade :-**

"_Our Story"_

All I can remember... All that I can remember me doing is holding a book... And I had the book in my hands. I squinted my eyes trying to read the title of the book but I couldn't see it. Where was I...? I looked at the ceiling and looked towards my left. This room was completely white and had a tall bookcase against the wall. Stretching out my fingers, I walked to the bookcase and my eyes were instantly drawn to a purple book. I pulled it out and for some reason my ears amplified the sound of the paper crumbling under my fingers. I couldn't read the text for the life of me.

Then it hit me. I looked at the ceiling once more and then I looked through the southern window. It was the only window in the room. Behind me was a white bed... A white twin-sized bed it looked like. Everything in the room was... Amazingly white... I couldn't get over that. There was a table in the room too. Who was I, and what was my name? There was a dresser next to the bookcase and I stared into the mirror. I had no idea what I looked like until then. I picked up a lock of my purple hair and rubbed it in between my fingers. It felt kind of weird. Was this what I looked like? I certainly didn't look normal...

I glanced down at what I was wearing. I had on a lace-corset style eyelid halter dress with a tie behind my neck and it seemed it was made out of a satin fabric. It had a pleaded center line and a lightly padded bra. The dress just above my knees. It felt weird. Was this what it felt like to wear clothes and know you were wearing them? Every time I moved, the swaying white dress would brush against my legs.

My brain wanted me to do something but I didn't know what it was saying... Maybe if I stepped out into the hallway I could figure out what was going on? I walked up to the door and tried to turn the knob but it was stuck. I think someone else was on the other side of it, waiting to come in. I stepped back and I saw this white fog come out of my mouth. I fell back on the ground, petrified.

This room was cold.

This tall woman was standing in front of me with her purple hair put into a bun. Long strands of hair came out of the middle of it. She looked at me, one hand on her hip—scowling at me.

I held my breath. She was really scary... She was wearing a white button up shirt with a pair of slacks. She looked at me through one of her eyes now. Why was she just standing there... Was she going to say something to me?

"Shame you don't remember me," she snorted, stepping over me and sitting on my bed. My eyes widened. The woman was hunched over... Like she didn't have any idea that she was a lady. She closed her eyes and dug her fingers into the sheets. I got off the ground and started to dust myself off. I clapped both of my hands together, my lips refusing to part. Maybe she knew where I was...? Maybe she knew _who_ I was?

"And you might be..." I asked, looking at her... Hoping that she would give me an answer. She didn't even look at me. I think she refused to.

"You really do suck. How could you forget your own mother?!"

I tilted my head. "You're my mother? You're too old to be my mother... You look nothing like me..." It was true. I didn't know what I looked like... But I did remember looking at myself in the mirror not too long ago... I was just forgetting a lot of important things... She chuckled to herself and stared at me. I gasped.

"If you say so, Sayuri."

"Sayuri's my name?" I asked, scratching my head. "That can't be my name... Stop, it's all coming back to me now. My name was Kokoro, wasn't it?" She hissed and stood up. Did I do something wrong? Sayuri didn't sound like a name suited for me! I didn't want to make this woman mad! I didn't even know _her _name!

"That's not your name, I didn't name you that, and I don't know who you're talking about, Sayuri."

"But I—"

"No buts!" she yelled, putting her index finger in the air while she turned around to face the window. "My name is Kohana, and like I said, I'm your mother." She had a pretty name! Kohana. It sounded like I could say it over and over and not get bored of it... Even a little.

"I like your name. It sounds pretty."

She just smiled at me, nodding her head. "I'm sure you do like it, Sayuri. It was your first word." Her name was my first word? My first word that I spoke when I was a child? How did Kohana know so much about me? "I was hopin' that I could give you the old evil-eye trick. Y'know... Since you were so afraid of me before you forgot all about my existence."

"But I could never be afraid of you, Kohana! You're the nicest person I know!" I was right... She was the _only_ person that I could remember... I didn't really remember her... I wasn't even sure that we had met before. She was telling me stuff that even I didn't know, which made me think she was a stalker or something... Did I like stalkers? I can't remember anything... Kohana put her fingers on her cheek, sitting back on my bed.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, kid. You might not be afraid now, but when you get that little memory of yours back, you'll be running up the walls." I sat on the ground with my legs crossed and we just looked at each other. I had a slight smile on my face and she looked like she wanted to take it away from me. She looked bored. _"Rawr!" _I blinked. Did she really just do that...? She put her hands up when she did that too, pretending to have... claws? Her expression went back to a bored one and I stared at her for a little while longer. _"Boooooo!" _I guess I leaned in closer to her face and she still looked at me with that same bored expression.

"You've got to be kidding me, Sayuri," she sighed. "This is ridiculous. Why can't you remember me? Out of all the people in the world you could have forgotten—" She stopped talking and I think it was because I was trying to get something out of my eye. "Are you going to start crying again?" She cocked a brow.

"Of course not!" I declared. "I just got an eyelash in my eye!"

Kohana ended up face-planting into the ground, and then she wiped her face with both of her hands. "I see I'm going to have to beat it out of you, hmm?" B-beat it out of me? What was she talking about? "There was this queen, Sayuri. She was a beautiful queen and she'd walk around without a care in the world." Kohana started to knit her fingers together. She got up and felt the need to pace around the room.

"Oooh, are you telling me a story, Kohana?" I asked, sitting on top of the bed. She nodded her head. Cool, I liked hearing stories. Or at least... I thought I liked hearing stories. "That's my name, isn't it?"

"Anyway, like I was saying. This queen had a lot of power. A lot of power. Power so unbearable that she didn't know how she could keep going. But she had a duty to fulfill. She had to keep an oath she made to her mother...'Promise me Sayuri, Promise me you'll kill me, because you're the only one who can do it. End my life. Make it quick. Whatever it takes to pull me away from the darkness. No matter how much I say it hurts...' her mother asked. 'Don't talk so much, you'll hurt yourself. Of course, Kohana. It'll be my oath to you. Our story,' Sayuri replied. She had to make her mother proud. That was the only thing that had drove her, and seven others just like her to confront the biggest evil in the universe..."

"Biggest evil?" I gasped.

"The Wickedness. Ringing any bells in that empty head of yours, Sayuri?" I stood still, trying to hear the bells Kohana was talking about.

"I'm sorry Kohana, I don't hear any bells. But you can keep going with your story!" Kohana sighed again, dropping both of her arms to her sides.

"What have they done to you...?" She stopped and rubbed her forehead. "My daughter has lost her ability to form witty comebacks too? And apparently you've lost the ability to tell when you're being insulted... I guess it can't be helped. Let me continue on... The Wickedness was this horrible monster that went around killing people at random... And it didn't help that this queen... Queen Sayuri was already pregnant with a child." Pregnant? That didn't sound too good... Pregnant with a child and trying to save the universe... "Queen Sayuri had friends... Friends that offered their lives to make sure she had a healthy child. She, of course, refused their offer. She said that she hated seeing her friends—her teammates—hurt at her expense. They told her to stay behind. They wanted her child to live and they knew that the child would die if Queen Sayuri continued her pilgrimage towards The Wickedness."

"Kohana? What's a Wickedness?"

She flinched. "I just explained that already, Sayuri dear. Time is what we don't have, remember? Let me finish up." Time is what we didn't have, huh? Right. I nodded my head and grabbed my knees. "She decided to stay. Her baby being born was a big deal. She needed to have a heir to her throne. But bad things started to happen. People wanted the baby dead, and so they started attacking Queen Sayuri."

"But that's not fair!" I protested. "Why would they want to kill the kid?! And the kid wasn't even born yet... That's cruel!" Kohana looked at me, her eyes softening.

"Queen Sayuri said the same thing. She said that her daughter was the most precious thing in the world to her. And that if she died... If her baby died... She was going to destroy everything."

"Everything?"

"_Every_thing." Kohana stopped pacing around and scratched her face. "She meant it. She really did. She was capable of bring hell to her attackers. Not wanting to wait until she was rendered powerless, Queen Sayuri picked up all of her responsibilities. As long as there was air inside of her, she would die trying to protect her baby. Her baby was the only thing left that wasn't corrupted by The Wickedness. Everything associated with The Wickedness was bad._ She _was bad. And then Sayuri managed to go and fight. She fought everyday with her baby in her stomach... The child clearly was excited that her mother was risking its life. It kicked around at the movements Sayuri made. Queen Sayuri was so determined that eventually she met up with her partners. Keep in mind that they were _worlds _away from her. Now they could finally take down The Wickedness. It was time to do so. They were so close to obtaining their goal, but Sayuri wanted to make sure she gave birth to her kid before she fought that monster."

"Did she, Kohana?" I asked, stretching back and biting my fingernails. "Did she give birth?" Kohana looked like she couldn't remember what came next but I really wanted her to continue the story. Her eyes started glowing with a worrisome... I didn't even know how to explain it. I wished she was okay. I didn't like seeing her sad.

"But the queen never got to see her daughter. They had no time. She had to make a choice... If she gave birth to her daughter, the world would have died away; The Wickedness would have destroyed everything because she and her friends would have waited too long to stop the beast. If she gave birth to her daughter? Well, heh." Kohana had a really nice way with words. She knew just how to make a story... "That's another story. Needless to say, the world would just end up dying either way."

"I'm betting she had her child, right? I would too.. Tell me please, Kohana! It's interesting." She sighed and glanced at me before she put her hand on the door knob.

"Sorry Sayuri. Our time together has run out, unfortunately. I wish I could tell you how it ended... Shame." I stood up and grabbed her arm. She looked back at me, puzzled. I knew I didn't want her to go through that door. I felt like I had lost her once already...

"Kohana? Thank you."

* * *

"_Friends in my Heart"_

The next person that walked into the room was a pale girl with shoulder-length... Sort of spikey blonde hair that was pulled into a ponytail. She didn't come in right after Kohana did. Kohana made made me go to bed afterwords. She was a nice person... Sucked that she didn't get to finish her story. The girl who tried really hard not to make any loud noises smiled at me. I could tell she was wearing lip-gloss. I didn't know why she was smiling at me... But she had a ball in her hands. A blue and green colored ball. The colors were all swirly looking... It was like she held the whole world in her hands.

Her outfit consisted of a green and pink jogging outfit... and matching shoes. She looked like she was going to go outside... Yet... She was inside my room. I hadn't left this place since I woke up inside of it. She patted the ball lightly with her free hand and took one step towards me.

"Hi, Reana! Remember me?" She smiled and I shook my head. Kohana claimed that my name was Sayuri... And now she was calling me Reana? Reana... "That's your nickname, Sayuri. Your American nickname. You gave me one too. I'm Linda." I tried to remember but I couldn't.

"I'm sorry..." I tried to see whether I should have called her 'Linda' or not. She didn't give me a hint.

"My name is Tariku, silly."

"Tariku? Sounds like some kind of food. I'm really hungry right now, sorry." She giggled and sat at the table, bouncing her ball. "You're in this one big mess, aren't you Sayuri? You're right... You can't do most things without me. I'm your buddy, remember? We are best friends. You have to remember, right? But if I guess you own mother can't even jog your memory, than who am I to make you remember who you are?" I wasn't really too sure I had anything left to remember. All these new people... They were making me feel so happy. They were actually taking their time out to come and see me. They were making me... Sad. Sad that I couldn't make them anymore happier.

"We better start, huh? I bet you were expecting a story?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, right. Sure, Tariku." I sat on the ground again, completely attentive. She looked at me with her blue eyes and then began.

"Sayuri, this was a place that was beautiful. Not beautiful on the outside... No, nothing could be so perfect on the outside. But in the inside? Rylee was the most genuine thing Kaida had ever seen. They were the best of friends and nothing could tear them apart. They did everything together. When they could, they'd have sleepovers together. They were two girls, about our age."

"... How old are we then, Tariku?" I asked.

"Mmm," she hummed. "You're fifteen now, Sayuri. I remember your birthday. It's on the fourteenth of January, isn't it? Or maybe you don't remember that either..." I shook my head. Every time I couldn't remember something, Tariku got more gloomy.

"No, it's okay. Honestly! You can keep going. After this story is over, I'm sure we'll be the best of friends, just like Rylee and Kaida."

Tariku swallowed and smiled at me. "Right! One day, Rylee had to face a big responsibility. She was stuck in some trouble and couldn't find her way out. She was in deep trouble and Kaida didn't know if she could pull her best friend out of it. They had been able to help each other out of the toughest situations, but this time was different. They both were overtaken by this. Kaida did everything in her power... And despite how strong their friendship was... They started to break apart."

"That's terrible, what happened?"

"Rylee started associating herself with the wrong crowd. She'd come home at really late hours with black eyes and bruises. Kaida was so upset and afraid for her friend that she forgot that they weren't really friends anymore. And when she realized this... She just started crying. Days without speaking to each other turned weeks, and then weeks turned to months. Everyday, Kaida had to walk past Rylee's locker and she was always overtaken buy the smell of cigarette smoke on Rylee's clothes. Though Kaida didn't want to admit it, even after all of those months... Their friendship was strong and Rylee realized this too. The next day, Rylee went to Kaida for help. Inconspicuously, of course. But Kaida could tell that Rylee really wanted to change."

"Okay, so Rylee got into some big trouble and she wanted Kaida to get her out of it again. But isn't that how they failed the last time?" I asked, holding my head up with my hands. Tariku nodded.

"They were going to try something new!" Tariku got up out of her seat and pointed towards the window. "Freedom, that's what they both wanted. Not just Rylee. Rylee was supposed to see a friend and she needed Kaida to help her tell this mystery person that she was dropping out of the gang she was in. They had it all planned out. They even wrote each other lines and practiced them everyday after school. They really loved each other..." She paused, bringing her arm down. She looked despondent. "Until—right at the last minute—Rylee found out that she had to go be a bodyguard at a drug negotiation instead of having her meeting. They were devastated."

"Wow... That sucks. I wouldn't want anything like that to happen to one of my friends..." I said. Tariku smiled a little bit more, but that was all I managed to get out of her.

"They both went to school the following day... The day when the meeting was supposed to take place. After school was over, Rylee promised Kaida that everything would be okay. Rylee said 'These drug things usually go along well, please don't worry about me!' She assured her with a smile and went to the meeting. Kaida wasn't so sure. Something didn't sound too right. Kaida went to put her books in her locker. The whole school should have been empty, so no one would see her go back in the building. She was going to turn the corner until she heard two boys talking. Turns out, one of the guys overheard one of Rylee and Kaida's conversations about Rylee trying to get out of their gang. They said they were going to kill her to prove a point. That they meant business." Tariku took a deep breath and sat back down in her chair. I stayed silent. This was really tense.

"Not sure what to do... She felt confused and angry. She never really knew how to hurt someone, but she miraculously learned when she beat up one of those boys and threatened to do the same to the other one if they didn't tell her where Rylee was going."

"One of them talked. I just know it. Rylee must have felt pretty bad."

"She did. When she found out, she dropped all of her books and ran to where her friend was going. Something was just making her legs move. She was going to a dangerous activity, unarmed at that. Just as the deal was about to start, Kaida showed up, panting. Rylee's eyes widened and she shouted, 'What are you doing here, Kaida?! You're messing everything up!' Kaida didn't have anytime to think or breathe. She saw the man in front of her pull out a gun and shoot Rylee at gunpoint. She couldn't tell if Rylee had gotten shot somewhere vital, but she hit the ground pretty hard. That was all it took for Kaida to attack the man who shot her friend. Luckily, Rylee had only gotten shot in the shoulder, but Kaida wasn't so lucky. For attacking the boss, Kaida found her body covered in bullets. They say three hit her head, three hit her chest, and another two logged in her legs. Seven, the lucky number. They said she was lucky."

Tariku looked at me and the continued on. "Kaida's body fell on top of Rylee. At the top of her lungs, Rylee screamed 'Why'd you do that, Kaida?! Why'd you do that?! You could have moved, you could have moved!!' She started sobbing as hard as her tear ducts would let her. 'I didn't even tell you I was sorry!'. She—" Tariku stopped abruptly. "She—" Tariku couldn't get a coherent sentence out of her mouth. "She—Kaida—in a fury of white, flashing lights, grew these amazing angel wings... Which should have been a good thing, but only increased her horror." I heard Tariku sniffing a bit, and with her sleeve, she wiped her eyes. Aww, I hope she wasn't crying.

"You can stop if this is hurting you, Tariku..."

"These beautiful white wings with these _beautiful_ feathers! And Kaida stood back up. The men tried to shoot her down, unsure of what Kaida was doing!" Now she was really crying... "And soon, they ran out of bullets to shoot at her. Everyone of those bullets missed, or hit the ground before they could touch her. Immobilized by the bullet in her shoulder, Rylee tried with all of her strength to get up. She whispered to herself over and over again... 'Don't be sad,' Kaida said. 'Please don't be sad. I did it because I love you.' But it was hard for Rylee not to be sad. Kaida had just died because of her. She died because of Rylee's reckless actions. Because Rylee wasn't strong enough to overcome her demons. 'If you die, if you die I couldn't possibly keep living!' Rylee insisted. But it was too late, Kaida was already starting to fade away. For some reason, Rylee gained the ability to stand and grabbed Kaida's right hand. They stared at each other... Rylee's face stained with tears."

"We'll always be friends in my heart," we both said simultaneously. Tariku smiled from underneath her tears. She grabbed my hand, just like she described Rylee grabbing Kaida's hand. I blinked for a second and Tariku's hand started to go through mine. I looked up at her face and she had these wonderful wings too... Just like Kaida...

"The men disappeared and now it was only the two of them. But I... I don't know how the story ends."

"Tariku, are you sure you'll be all right?"

Her crying didn't stop. Her shirt was drenched in water. "If you ever need me, Sayuri, I'm in your heart. I'm never too far away." She smiled at me, and then withing this yellow light... She disappeared. I closed my hand, the one she was holding. That was a nice story. I was going to walk towards the ball that she left behind, but a lone tear slid down my face.

"Huh?" I touched it with my index-finger and looked at it. "This is kind of weird..." It _was _a tear... "Why am I..." Then I felt it. Before I got a chance to blink, tears started falling out of my eyes. I grabbed both of my shoulders and fell down to my knees. My breath was catching... I couldn't... I couldn't breathe... Was I crying for Tariku? Was she really dead? Was that story really real? Did I... I felt so much pain that I didn't feel before. I started pounding the ground. "Why, why, why am I crying?! What did I do... What did I do... What _didn't _I do...?!"

I looked up at the white door. "Please, please come back, Tariku! Finish your story, I know there's an ending for us, somewhere!"

I looked up and no one was there.

No one was_ ever_ there.

* * *

"_Freedom"_

I was never allowed out of the room.

The room was my sanctuary.

The room was my only means of survival.

The next morning, a new person came in. But he was a guy. A guy that wanted me to call him Shirogane for some reason. He wasn't like Kohana or Tariku. He played this game differently. Firstly, he made me stand in the middle of the room... In the same spot for half-an-hour. He sat at the table and stared through the window, running his fingers through his hair as I stood. "How is this supposed to get me to remember, Shirogane...?"

He glanced at me through his blue eyes. He didn't say anything for a while, but eventually got up from his seat. He made me stand in a ballet stance—or so he said. I help the back of my foot with my hand, making standing up extremely painful. Of course he gave me something more suitable to wear. I couldn't so that in the dress I had been wearing. He looked sharp though, at least. He was in a suit, but it was messy. His tie was loose enough for him to breath. I didn't like the way ties looked. His shirt wasn't tucked in and all of that jazz.

He said he was the type of person that told stories about his past. And did I forget to mention that he was really old? He was 20-something-_thousand_-years-old. He was really old! My jaw dropped when he told me that. He had a really casual air about him. He stayed longer than Kohana and Tariku did, and they didn't even finish their stories.

"Shirogane..." I sighed. "Can I move yet, please?" Yes, he was definitely different from everyone.

"No where did we leave off, Sayuri?" he asked. Ah, that was right. He did start telling his story... I must have forgotten him again, silly me. I pursed my lips in confusion, trying to remember.

"Oh wait, I remember. You were talking about how you and your wife Ichigo were walking outside and you both stopped to see the birds. But one of them was dead and you said you couldn't stand seeing dead birds." He nodded his head, amused at the fact that I remembered what his story was about. He put one of his hands on his hip, sighing.

"Right, that bird," he said, glancing out of the window again. "We were walking and it was just like any other innocent day, and Ichigo—being the Celestial Being that she was—was instantly attracted to those birds. She had cat DNA which was only natural. You're a part of my project as well, the project I started to save unsuspecting people like my parents, Ichigo... Those dead birds."

I blinked. I was a part of a project? Did this mean I was... Was I human? "I'm a part of your project? Sounds important. What project is it?"

"'SOTMW'. Summoners Of The Magic Wand. I built a whole empire dedicated to the safety of people who can't protect themselves from The Wickedness. I'm sure someone has told you what The Wickedness is. I can always recap what you should already know." No, I was all right. Kohana had told me that it was the biggest evil... I shook my head no.

"But Shirogane, what is a Magic Wand? And a Summoner?"

"A Summoner is an individual that has been infused with an entity of an Essence. They are people who are capable of using weapons and the Essences that they have been infused with. You are the Summoner of Time, Sayuri Outtaike, and you can summon your weapon, which is the Magic Wand. Essences are a phenomenon. There are millions of Essences. Everyone is made up of an Essence whether they know it or not. The Essences inside of people—they can't be used as lethal weapons. But the Essences of the world? Water, fire, earth, air, time, space—when controlled, they can be deadly." So it was like some kind of magic?"

"Like a game, Shirogane?"

He glanced at me through his fatigued eyes. They were the brightest blue I had ever seen. "No, it's not a game when people die for senseless reasons. Sayuri, you go through what I call a "Metaphase", in which your DNA mends with the tidbit of time Essence that's been injected into your body. When you trigger your transformation, you will revert into what is called your "Summoner form". In this form, you can withstand things that would undoubtedly kill you in your normal state. You lead your team towards fighting The Wickedness."

"That monster Kohana was talking about earlier? I thought that was just a story!" I yelped.

"It is a story," he sighed. "I told you I was telling you a story... That's what you wanted to hear, right?"

"But... Kohana didn't talk about all of the things you're talking about! Was Queen Sayuri a Summoner, Shirogane?" He blatantly ignored my question, folding his hands and then bringing them to his side.

"Ichigo was beautiful, but even more so, she had a beautiful soul. Instead of trying to eat those birds, she looked at me... Asking me with her eyes if I could do something about those weak birds. She wanted me to at least save the ones that weren't dead. She told me she hated seeing dead birds. Ichigo told me that all birds had to themselves were their freedom. And when they died... She couldn't finish her sentence. At the time, I didn't think anything of those birds. As I walked towards them, I thought I was wasting my time. Then we got into an argument. She asked me how could I have been so cruel. We were always getting into arguments about the most trivial things..." Shirogane started trailing off, looking into space... He sort of had this smile on his face, but you had to look really close at him to see it. Sometimes it was good to pay attention to the little things.

"But that's what I liked about Ichigo. She always gave me something to do. So as I walked towards those birds, I picked one of them up. Being a Celestial Being, I have a stronger immune system than you humans do. Ichigo stood back, watching me from afar. You could tell she was really concerned with the birds. Then I started thinking... How did those birds get hurt in the first place?"

"Maybe they ran into a tree. I do that sometimes."

"Sayuri, you don't even remember who you are, how do you remember that?"

"Because, I'm a bird too, Shirogane!" I exclaimed, pointing to myself. "The only thing I have to my name is freedom, just like Ichigo said! Because I can't... Remember anything." He glanced at me and then kept going.

"Don't move, like I said." I nodded my head. I was going to make sure that I stayed as still as possible. "The bird that I thought was dead inside of my hand... It's wings started to flutter and it took off into the sky. I was confused, but Ichigo 'meowed' with joy. She clapped for me and then the rest of the birds took off into the sky. They regained their freedom, but... If only I knew we'd lose ours." He stopped and sat down in the chair. "It was the most monstrous thing I had ever seen in a while. It was huge... I couldn't even begin to explain it's features. It was The Wickedness, and it was called that for a reason. And it was right in front of us. I told Ichigo to run inside of the castle, but she said it was her duty to protect Spectra. I didn't know what to do. As much as I was horrified, I was afraid for her well-being. No one saw that attack coming."

"But if Queen Sayuri couldn't do it alone... How did you...?"

His blue eyes locked on me again, stopping me in the middle of my sentence. "I decided to fight it. Or at least I tried to." He stood back up and walked towards me. "Now I've had you stand in one place for a reason. When people stand still, their thoughts seem to calm down. The natural balances inside of you will aline with each other and you'll get the ability to transform back, I'm hoping. You are a solider of Spectra, but you fight for_ Ichigo_, Sayuri." I stood up straight because he started walking towards the door. I guess I could move now?

"Aww, you're not going to finish your story?"

"Fight for Ichigo's last wish. Save all of the wounded birds. Give the people their freedom, and maybe one day I will."

And with that he opened the door and disappeared, just like the others.

Yes, he was definitely different from everyone.

* * *

_"Scheherazade"_

The next person who came into my room made me laugh. I couldn't stop laughing because he wouldn't stop doing silly things.

"It's called..._ She-har-i-dahee... ah_?" He wasn't even sure of the pronunciation himself. He was stumbling over his words, moving his hands to try and get the word out of his mouth right. His name was Koroko and he was this laid-back person. His hair was sort of spiky and it had this out-of-place blonde streak in it. "_She-hi-ni-da-dee-da._.. No! I've got it!"

I put my fingers on my chin. Maybe I could do it, even though I had never heard the story before. "_Shechi-ra-sad-ie_?"

"Not exactly, Sayuri, but close!" He raised his index finger in the air, and then put his hands into his pockets. "Maybe it's She-chee-something. It doesn't even really matter, Sayuri. I'll still tell the story, but I might pronounce her name wrong..."

"Sheh... Sheh..." I said. We both were sitting at the table and he brought paper and pens, so I decided to write the word down. Writing the word down always made things easier for me to say... Or at least I remember that... Kokoro turned the paper sideways and looked at it himself.

"Heh," he continued for me.

"...Reh..."

"...Zahde!" he exclaimed, jumping from his seat. "Scheherazade! Thanks, Sayuri! Now you really want me to get your memories back for you!" So far, everyone who had came to see me talked about how much of a wonderful person I was when I still had my memories. I thought I didn't have anything to lose. I was meeting so many nice people for the first time in a while... And Kokoro was nice so far.

"Anyway, Scheherazade. Yeah, that story. It was about this girl and this king, and this king had gotten cheated on by his first wife. Ever since then, he started marrying a virgin girl everyday—only to kill her the next night. The king's right-hand man ran out of virgins for the king to marry, but his daughter Scheherazade offered to marry him next. He didn't want to do it, but he had no choice. From then on in, Scheherazade told the king a story—but she'd never finish it, keeping the king on edge until the next night. But when the night night would come, she would start a different, more exciting story and never end it. She would do that for one-thousand and one nights. On the last night, she had asked the king to spare her life, and he did! During these tales, the king had fallen in love with Scherazade, and they lived happily ever after!"

"One-thousand and one nights?" I said. "Um, how did she manage _that_?"

"I was thinking the same thing too!" Kokoro scratched his head. "They were all different stories too... She must have had a pretty good memory. They said she told all kinds of things... Humor, romance, stuff you'd read in a Biology book! All for the king to spare her life." That didn't sound too right. Why would Scheherazade do something like that? Didn't the kind try to kill her for... One-thousand and one nights?

"I would have tried to get away from that king..." I crumbled the paper up with my left hand. Then I started shaking... "I would have tried to get away. Kokoro, was she_ stupid?_"

Ignoring my sentence, he got up out of his chair and poked my forehead. I covered my forehead with my hand and hissed. "Why'd you do that? Ouch, that hurt. You should be more careful about things you poke!"

"Did you just get your memory back, Sayuri?" He looked hopeful.

I blinked some more. "Um, no? I just asked was she stupid..."

"Aww." he sighed, and then he sat back in his seat. "Well anyway, Scherazade was kind of like you, Sayuri?" Really? I didn't want to be stupid and marry an evil king... Did I do that? I hope I didn't do that. I wouldn't care about the castle or the money, or any of the stuff like that. It would make me uneasy... To know that I was living with a killer who kept me in a jail cell for a couple of years...

"How was she like me? Did I do something like she did?" I really wanted him to answer me. He already finished his story, didn't he? So there was nothing he could leave out this time!

"Well," he started. "Scherazade was really smart, Sayuri, and she was really beautiful." That didn't make any sense... How could he tell a fictional character was really smart, let alone beautiful? It was just a bunch of text words written on a piece of paper, wasn't it? Text couldn't tell you someone's personality... It'd be just like trying to to look inside of person... Kokoro stared at me, and then looked at his wrist.

"Ha, whopsee, I must have stayed to long. I've gotta go now, or else I'll get a whole lot of trouble with the others. No one wants that!"

"Wait! You still haven't explained yourself!" I exclaimed, jumping out of my seat as he walked towards the door. I really didn't know who this guy was at all...

"Bye, Sayuri!"

… I hit the table, tired of being ditched at the last minute all of the time. Every time one person would come in, the would tell me less and less. He didn't tell me anything except for his name...

Was he my teammate?

* * *

_"Parasitism"_

"_Ahga... Ca... huh..._" I couldn't get a coherent sentence out of my mouth. My whole body felt really numb, like I couldn't really control it. This lady... She walked into my room next. She was really short and stood up an my chest. She had this short orange hair with bangs that got in her eyes. She reminded me of a cat, because she had a tail and a pair of ears. She was really strange... But I tried to say hi to her...

But she ignored me. She extended her arm out and told me to shake it, and then she bit me. She really bit me! She had really sharp teeth, very sharp teeth that made my arm bleed really, really bad. Blood stained the white-tiled floor. I was going to have to clean it up after she had left. This lady was wearing an orange and pink asymmetrical leotard that had frilly skirt things on each of her sides. I couldn't see straight... Everything I saw was purple now and really blotted now. I tried to move my head and I looked inside of the mirror. My eyes were doing really weird things...

My whole body was doing really weird things... It was twitching, and I couldn't do anything about it. My outfit started the flicker into something... Into something I was wearing. Finally, the lady latched off of my arm and spat on the ground. She had my blood in her mouth, and was spitting it on the floor. I gasped, holding my arm, and then I heard a sound similar to a a rocket going off.

"Why would you do that?!" I exclaimed, looking at the two deep puncture marks in my arms. "Are you some kind of vampire of something?!" She scoffed and wiped her mouth off with her sleeve, looking at me with her dangerous pink... Scary eyes. And then I started sneezing for no reason... I remembered something! Wasn't I allergic to cats?

"Vampire? Vampires don't exists, girl."

"Then why did you bite me?! What did I ever do to you to make you bite me?!"

She folded her arms, never moving out of place. "You'll thank me for it later. Go see." Go see? I was in too much pain to go see! But I looked into the mirror again. My hair was completely down and I had a green headband on my head that had purple and green feathers shooting out of it. I wore a purple corset and matching shorts. I had bangles all over my arms that clinked when I turned my attention back to the short woman in front of me.

"What did you just do to me?!" I was almost frantic. I felt so weird...

"I am Miyuki, your Guardian. I'm a part of Shirogane's project. You are a Summoner, and a Summoner needs her Guardian. I trained thousands of years to be able to protect you and your friends." So she was a Celestial Being just like Ryou? Still! She bit me, so I didn't really like her too much, at the moment.

"You still didn't answer my question, Miyuki! What did you do to me, and why did you bite me?!" I was waiting for her to answer me, but she didn't even look at me.

"I made you transform. You've forgotten that I can do that, Sayuri. You'll thank me later. It'll be only a matter of time before you get all of your memories back, but I don't know what effect meeting everyone in here will have on you. I think you may forget everyone..." I didn't want to forget all of the people I met here. They were all so nice... Taking time out of their days to help me remember who I was... "Do you know how parasites live? They leach off of a host... They don't heal it, they harm it. That's where the word parasitism comes from. Vampires is an outdated term. The term is parasitism." Was she trying to say that she was a parasite? Now I was confused. I arched an eyebrow, sitting on my bed.

"Are you going to tell me a story, Miyuki?" I asked.

"You are the story, Sayuri. Everything begins with you... And everything will end with you. You tell me a story." Miyuki liked to change the rules up too... I put my index finger on my chin. I didn't know any stories... While I was thinking of something to tell, things around me started to stop, slow down, and then resume. What was happening...?

"That's natural, you're having a spasm again, Sayuri. I had to restart your functions. Now I wish you would snap out of whatever trance you're in and get back to reality." A spasm, huh? I started remembering things... But not things that Miyuki was telling me I would remember. I was looking through the eyes of someone... And I saw Miyuki. But she was smiling, this wasn't the Miyuki standing in front of me.

"He says he misses you," I muttered, closing my eyes.

"What did you say, Sayuri?"

I thought I was speaking loud enough, but I guess I wasn't. "He says he misses you, and that he wasn't trying to be a vampire. He would never hurt you for his own gain." I opened my eyes. "Heh, so much for a story. I couldn't see anything straight at all!"

A pause, a frown, then a smile.

"Show me, don't just tell me, Sayuri."

I inhaled. It was going to be hard to explain everything I saw... Everything I felt.

Everything I want to remember.

* * *

_"Being Strange"_

"I'm bringing sexy back... Yeah! Them other boys don't know how to act... Yeah! I'm thinking you're special, what's behind your back...? Yeah! So turn around and I'll pick up the slack!"

Who was this person in front of me, and what the heck was he doing?! He was in sweats like he was working out of something with this giant boombox next to him. And he was doing some weird side-shuffle with his eyes narrowed.

It looked like he was woefully constipated because he was hopping... Tippy-toe hopping in one place...

"Dirty babe!" I covered my ears. Holy Jesus!! Off-key!! "You see these shackles baby I'm your slaaaave! I'll let you whip me if I misbehaaaaaave! It's just that no one makes me feel this waaaay!"

"_Moonlight!"_

He turned around quick to the door. Whoever was behind it didn't approve.

My ears didn't approve either. "Are you a pedophile?!"

* * *

_"Darkness"_

I looked at this thing but I didn't want to touch it. It was really pretty... It had all of these diamonds incrusted on it. I was worried that if I touched the scythe the wrong way, it would have broken underneath my fingers. Morta looked at me underneath her wavy hair, arching her eyebrow. "You still don't remember anything yet, Sayuri? I thought seeing this thing would kick you back to your senses."

I wanted to ask her something I've been wanting to ask everyone who came through here. "Are you going to tell me a story?"

She looked like she was the type of person who wasn't going to tell me any stories. "You're too old for that stuff. Did you de-age too, Sayuri?" she said sarcastically.

That's when I got angry.

Who was she to tell me I was too old for stories! That's how everyone was telling me I'd get my memories back! "Why don't you stop being so serious! They said that the only way I'd get my memories back was if you all told me stories! Aren't you going to help me?" She closed her eyes and then opened them again, propping her scythe on her shoulder. She started walking around the room now.

"I've got a good one. Once upon a time there was a girl named Sayuri who lost her memorizes. Everyone huddled together and tried to make her get them back. It's been a year and a couple of days and we're all tired of waiting for you to wake up." A year?! It couldn't have been a year! After Kohana left, I'd sleep, then Tariku walked in... And people would come in every day and tell me a story! It couldn't of been that long! Wasn't a the Summoner of time...? I could tell when these things happened, right?

"You're lying!" I shouted.

"No Sayuri, maybe you're lying. Have you ever been out of this room?"

"They came in my room everyday and they would tell me a story! Get. Out!" I hissed. "If you're not going to tell me a story, get out!" I was done with her talking! I wanted someone else to tell me a story! She wasn't doing anything but making me mad!

"And then Sayuri swore that she had all of her memories back. I think you only remember certain stories, Sayuri, because we've all been taking turns. This is probably my one-hundred and twentieth time being in here. We can't keep telling you stories... There are only so many stories in the world."

"Scheherazade did it," I muttered, clutching my fists. "Why can't you?"

"Because I'm not 'Scheherazade', Sayuri," she shot back. "This is not a story nor a fairytale. You refuse to get your memorizes back because you persist on trying to stay here in this one room. Did you ever think of walking out of this room? Did you ever think of walking into whatever lies on the other side of that room? Schehrazade did, and she walked out of that room every night not knowing what to face next." Why would I go out of this room? This room was my sanctuary—this room was my home... I'd never leave it. They come in here to tell me stories...

I wasn't invited to go out there.

"What's... What's out there that you're insinuating I can't take?!"

She arched her thick eyebrow once more. "Darkness. I think you're afraid of the dark, Sayuri." I looked around me. I might have been with this whole room white and all. I never really got to see what this place looked like in the nighttime. I would always fall asleep by twilight and wake up to a new story at dawn.

"You can't hide in here forever."

"Watch me," I retorted.

"You can't hide in here forever because eventually you'll forget how to see through the darkness. You at least had the ability to do that... But now I don't know."

She was challenging me.

She was testing me.

And when she left, I sat against the wall with my knees hugged against my chest... And that was the day I never slept.

Let's see what darkness would blind me then.

* * *

_"Clocks"_

"You're not fucking getting it, Sayuri, every time you go to sleep, you go forward three days and go back about fifteen fucking ones. You've been going around in a goddamned circle!!!" The woman who was holding my shirt thrust me against the wall, knocking all the books down in the bookcase. She didn't look to happy, but the girl in behind her looked like she would handle things if they got out of hand.

"Are you going to tell me a story or not?!" I exclaimed, grabbing her cold metallic arm and transforming into my Summoner form.

"Do you _want _to know what happens to children that ask me to tell them a 'story'?!" she said with a leer.

I gulped.

Maybe this wasn't the best way to go.

* * *

_"The 1001th Night"_

This time, no one came to tell me a story.

Everyone was gone.

And as much as I didn't want to admit it, I didn't remember anything. I forgot all of their names... All of their faces... The only thing I could remember now was they stories those people told me... I couldn't match them to faces...

I stood up, unable to sleep.

I could do this. I was going to walk through the door and see what was on the other side. And then, maybe then... That could be my last story.

This was going to be the ending to _my _story.

I felt like this had been going on for far too long... Scheherazade ended her story with a happy ending... Why couldn't I do the same thing? I...

I reached out towards the door, suddenly feeling unable to move.

My name? _Sayuri Outtaike._

My occupation? _Solider of Spectra, solider to Ichigo... Solider of all the people who couldn't protect themselves._

My Age? _Somewhere around fourteen. Fifteen, maybe._

I extended my hand, and that wand... The one Shirogane said I had appeared in it. I took two steps back, determined to run through the door. Even if whatever on the other side killed me... Even if I couldn't return to this room...

For some reason, all of those guys needed me. And I needed them.

"Here goes nothing," I whispered to myself. "Did you hear that?! I said here goes nothing!!" I dashed towards the door and almost touched the door knob. These black hands grabbed onto my shoulders. They grabbed onto my arms and legs, pulling me back. "No, never again! This is my last night here! I've earned my freedom damn you!" It was hard, but I managed to take a few steps forward, but the hands got stronger. Unable to move my legs much longer, I extended my hand... My fingertips barely touched the knob.

"I remember who I am, dammit it! It's too late now, I've already won!"

The hands fell for my bluff and dropped their guard. I took this time to grab the knob and open the door as quickly as I could.

Morta was wrong. There wasn't any darkness behind this door. But they were all waiting for me. Everyone. Shirogane, Miyuki... Kokoro...

I looked behind me and everything seemed to disappear.

"Yo!" Moonlight shouted. "She's back!"

I swung my arm to the side. Along with them came a lot of beasts, beast I didn't even know existed before. There were bright lights, too. Lights just swarming around—and that's when I remembered that they were Essences. "I'm back, one hundred percent, guys," I smirked.

"And I'm not going anywhere."

I took off into battle with the others.

And when them, I'd tell one-thousand and one more tales. This marked the beginning of a new year, and I'd risk my life to protect all of these people.

_And for 1001 nights she stayed in that room._

_But now that the stories are over and she's regained her wings, she's gained her freedom._

_And that's the why the story goes_

_Until this very day. _


End file.
